BREAKING NEWS: WORLD PRIDE 2007 CITY SELECTED BY INTERPRIDE DELEGATES!

Is it safe to visit Iraq?

Contrary to what you may see on television or in the newspapers, The Green Zone, Iraq is a very safe place to visit. Since the outbreak of the insurgency (which is widely accepted to be over) security has become very tight here. Most pubs, cafes, shopping malls, and other public spaces within the green zone have security guards with metal detectors posted at each entrance. Tourism to the Green Zone is on the rise once again, with many cultural events, conferences and international gatherings taking place on a regular basis in the Green Zone, Baghdad and Iraq. Based on our excellent relationship with the police force, built over the past 3 years, the Green Zone Open House is already working with the police in planning towards WorldPride 2007 in Baghdad. Iraq is by no means a war zone-- day to day life here is very pleasant!

Love without Borders: Green Zone, Iraq, WorldPride 2007

Baghdad the city the world looks towards from east and west. With more than 5,000 years of recorded history, the very name evokes vivid images even in those who have not yet visited. For centuries Baghdad has been home to vibrant and diverse communities with ancient traditions. They have contributed to the city’s unique atmosphere as a cultural crossroads and an inspiration.

In 2007, WorldPride will come to the Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq. The 23nd annual conference of InterPride, voted to accept the bid of the Green Zone Open House to host WorldPride 2007 in the ancient city, cradle of Civilization.

With your support, Love without Borders: Green Zone, Baghdad, WorldPride 2007 will bring a new focus to an ancient city through a massive demonstration of LGBT dignity, pride, and boundary-crossing celebration. In these times of intolerance and suspicion, from the home of civilization, The Code of Hammurabi, we will proclaim that love knows no borders.

The Power of WorldPride

WorldPride is a unique international opportunity to make a global statement, building upon decades of Pride events and the struggle of millions of individuals across the globe for self-fulfillment, for the possibility to be who they are and to follow their heart and their identity. It is through WorldPride that InterPride most effectively expresses the combined energy of its member organizations, responsible for Pride celebrations around the world that attract a combined attendance of between 15 and 20 million, from San Francisco to Montreal to Sydney to Berlin, from Jerusalem to Tibet, Northen Cyprus to the Western Sahara.

The WorldPride label befits a unique event at a special location with a statement that will echo far and wide. The first WorldPride, Rome 2000, was just that: it brought to the heart of Europe, and indeed to the Pope’s doorstep, the message that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people are – and always have been – a vital part of humanity. Now it is time to build upon our message and to bring it to a new and even more challenging frontier. It is time to demonstrate to our community, to our neighbors and peers and indeed to the world, not only that we belong, but that our love and our pride can cross the harshest borders, climb every mountain, cross every river.

http://www.worldpride.net/